Devil May Care
by Shadoe Dysteria
Summary: "After twenty four hours… He disappears, Hotch. Henry will be gone." For Whitewolf200056's "May Prompts" & in honor of Missing Children's Month. Three Shots. T for language and situations/events in Chapter Two.
1. Chapter 1

***I don't own Criminal Minds***

"No. No. No. No." She whispered, hands shaking. "No."

Jennifer "J.J." Jareau looked down at the note in her hand. This was not happening to her, not her baby. No. No. NO.

_Dear Jenny,_

_He'll be fine. I just have him for a now. For a while. _

_Maybe forever._

_Don't try and find him, he's going to a better place. I know you've been worrying about him (I know everything about him), so, I'm taking care of him._

_You won't have to worry anymore._

_Whatever comes later goes. _

_When the day is through, I suffer no regrets. You shouldn't either. I know that he who frets loses the night._

_Don't even stop for a sigh... It doesn't help if you cry._

_Y'know, Jenny, only a fool thinks he can hold back the dawn. He who is wise never tries to revise what is past and gone._

_D.M.C._

This couldn't be happening, not to her baby. Not to her little boy.

He was just here the night before, how was he… How did he get him? The person that stole him... That was her baby he took! She was just asleep, she had finally moved Henry into his room. He'd been sleeping with her for a while after Will left, and, last night she finally decided he could go back into her own room.

What if he was watching, the person that took him? She didn't have time to dwell on that possibility as she darted out up from the floor near to his crib she had slid down onto in shock. She thought the baby monitor had been silent, as Henry always woke up at 5:30 a.m. Every day. He had finally gotten to the point to where he could sleep semi-peacefully throughout the night, but, he always woke up at that time. Every day. Despite being three, he still had sleeping problems, but, she could count on him to always wake up at that time. Every day. At first she thought maybe he had figured out a way to turn it off… He always thought he was too old for a _baby _monitor. But, she kept it on. Because she liked to check on him when he woke up. Every day.

She woke up at 6, thinking something had been off. _I should have been up to check on him. He's had my baby for so long. Because I couldn't wake up. God… My baby. _She had suddenly gone to check on Henry, and had been surprised to see he was missing and that a note had been left.

_My shoes? Where the hell are my shoes? _She thought as she grabbed her car keys. Her hair was a mess, she was scantily clothed in her short night gown and she was sure the mascara she had accidentally fallen asleep in from last night was streaked, but, she didn't care. Her baby. She just needed her baby.

She exited her front door, almost not bothering to lock it. She flew down the stairs, glad that she remembered to grab her light dress robe when she first got up to check on Henry. It didn't do much for covering anything, but, at least she wasn't going to be as freezing as she would have been without it.

She raced to the BAU, happy she had remembered to leave her I.D. in her car. She looked at the clock. 6:30 a.m. it read. So, everyone would be there. But, that also meant he (or she, whoever the hell it was) had her baby for at least an hour now. Assuming he took the baby at 5:30, and even that wasn't likely.

She finally swerved into the parking garage, honking like crazy, probably scaring the living daylights out of the few people that were unfortunate enough to cross her path. She was going to go crazy, she knew. It would take five minutes for her to go crazy. Five minutes for it to completely sink in that Henry was gone and she didn't know if she was going to get him back.

It only took five minutes, right? Perhaps she should ask Reid. Ah, yes, Reid. Henry's Godfather. Garcia, his Godmother. She loved him, sometimes, J.J. suspected, enough to rival her, herself. And Will. What would Will say? He would blame her, maybe. What about Morgan? Why did she care about Morgan? Of course she cared about Morgan. And Garcia. And Prentiss. And the really nice old lady in the cafeteria that baked those humungous to die for chocolate chip cookies that she loved to eat.

_Loved to eat and gave half of to Henry._

Henry. That's right. That was who she was there for. She couldn't let herself get distracted... Well, she couldn't allow herself to go into denial. Or shock. Henry. Her baby.

Her baby that was taken from her. Abducted child. Stranger abduction. It had to be. She didn't let just anyone around Henry. Mostly the team. And Will. And she knew Will was careful about who he let around their son, he loved him just as much.

So, that meant stranger abduction. Her baby had twenty four hours. Damn… Her helpless baby.

She finally made it up to her floor, no doubt garnering many confused looks for those around her. She hadn't even bothered to wait for the elevator, sure she could get to her floor faster on her own feet. People had probably seen way more of her body than they had ever seen of her face in the last few years she had transferred back to Quantico, but, that was irrelevant.

She was sure security was chasing after her, what with her not bothering to check in or provide I.D. But, that was irrelevant.

Henry.

She burst into the bullpen, people moving out of her way. "Hotch!" She called, looking around, gathering looks of confusion and worry from her teammates and the few probationary and junior agents that had just happened to be caught there.

He stepped out of his office, Rossi by his side, both of them surprised and equally worried. The security guards had finally caught up and were preparing to pull her out but stopped at a hand raise from Hotch.

"J.J.?" Emily asked, stepping closer to her friend. Everyone had sprung up when J.J. ran in, whether from her hysteric call or the fact that the prim and proper looked disheveled and undressed. And hurt.

"My baby!" She called, the tears evident in her voice. She began to sway on her feet, her hands gripping at her chest, as if trying to force air into it. She was now openly sobbing, though, trying to keep a strong façade and not let it all out, and, Emily ran forward to catch her as she finally let go.

She fell, sobbing.

Everyone on the floor rushed to her, and David and Aaron made to make their way closer. She had started screaming through her wails at that point, everyone going still at what they heard.

"My baby! God, he took my baby. My Henry… He has him." She was sobbing harder, the sounds emitting from her body beginning to sound more like the cries of a dying animal rather than anything that should ever come from the body of a human being.

"He took your… J.J., who has your baby?" Morgan asked, moving closer, but, being sure not to move in too much, unsure of what would set her off. "Who took Henry?"

The mention of his name made her sob louder, if it was even possible. She could only thrust the note at him, buckling into herself as she took in a deep breath and cried harder, finally letting go and breaking down.

Morgan read the note, his eyes growing harder with each word he read. "Damn." He muttered, handing the note to Hotch and looking down at J.J. "Well, get him back, babe. We'll get him back."

**DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC**

"D.M.C.?" Morgan asked, as the team sat down around the table in the conference room. They tried to send J.J. home, but, she wouldn't move, not even to go get clothes or her other work things. Luckily she kept a pair of sweats in her office for late nights and Emily had been able to fetch them while Derek pulled out a shirt from his car that he had gotten at a recent seminar.

She had been insistent about staying at the office once they had been able to calm her down. She apologized, but, firmly stated that "some sick bastard" out there had her baby and she was "not going to stop until" she had his "ass dead or alive".

Needless to say, after that, no one argued.

She was now sitting in Garcia's office with her, the two just talking about being together, Garcia probably reminiscing over the good times with Henry and consoling her. Strauss had been called down after everything had occurred and let the team know that whatever cases they were planning had been called off and that they could focus on the abduction, but, that Agent Jareau was to have no direct part in it. JJ tried to argue, but, Strauss would not be moved on the subject.

"It can't be a name," Reid deduced, looking at the paper again. He had his yellow legal pad in front of him and was observing the handwriting. A junior agent had just run a photo copy for him right after J.J. surrendered her house keys over to them so that they could send a team to investigate the scene of the crime before they got there, though, not before listening to her testimony, as detailed as a frazzled woman could get and heading her message to not touch the night light; apparently it was faulty or something.

"Why not?" Emily asked, her own folder in front of her. J.J. had just enough sanity left within her to tell Garica where to locate the files of her, Will and Henry on her laptop, though, she could only sit by and watch, motionless and Garcia compiled them to be sent out to the team. In the folder was also copies of the letter, though, pictures of the location would be faxed to their floor shortly as the CSI team finished their initial observance and they were called in.

"Look at what he says _'Don't try and find him' _along with _'You won't have to worry anymore'_." Reid guided his pen along the page, leaning over to show Emily, though, it wasn't necessary as they were all listening to him speak along with looking at their own copies.

"It's as if he's saying the situation should be done and over with," Rossi remarked. "He wouldn't leave a name if he believes she should just drop it. A name means a lead, and a lead means she'll keep looking."

"So, we're looking for a slogan?" Derek asked, confused. "I don't get it. Why sign with a slogan?"

"Because it expresses your opinions better than your name would," Reid answered immediately. "The UnSub isn't trying to give out hints, so, we know he didn't sign with a place or address, or anything that could allow us to even remotely locate him, so, it's something deeper than that.. Probably a phrase or slogan."

"But, what if he just signed it to sign it?" Emily asked, viewing the last lines of his letter. _"'Whatever comes later goes' _That spells a pretty flippant attitude to me."

"You can tell he didn't just do it to perform the action. _"I know that he who frets loses the night' _He wouldn't just do things to do them if he's already talking about wasting time."

Morgan's phone rang and they all looked towards his lounging position, where, just seconds before, he had been ardently focused on the words that were coming out of Reid's mouth.

"Talk to me, Baby Girl," He said. It didn't escape him that they were in the same building, practically down the hall, and she was calling, but, he said nothing. "How is she?"

Garcia sighed, and, he could hear the sadness. "She finally fell to sleep. My little gumdrop… All of the crying tired her out. I have the photos from the scene, so, I was just calling to let you guys know I've already sent them to your tablets."

He sighed, running his hand over his face. "All right, thanks, Mama. I'll text you later."

"All right. Also, they gave pretty detailed reports after I called and explained everything, so, there may even be some video footage tucked away in there, but, I know that you guys are going to want to go to the scene even though you don't have to, so, please be careful." She took a deep breath. "PG out." But, he could tell that even as she said it, her sass was long gone.

He looked down at his phone for a moment before looking up at the group. "She finally fell asleep."

"Good," Hotch nodded. He was having to work to keep up his stoic front; his team needed someone that was going to be strong and firm no matter what happened. Sometimes it hurt him to do it, but, this was his family. Someone was going to have to be there to do it for them, and, as the leader, it was his job. "Did Garcia say anything else?"

"Oh, yeah," Morgan said, shaking his head slightly. "CSI finished up at the scene, so, the pictures have been uploaded to our tablet. She said they also provided us with detailed written reports and there way be video footage."

Hotch nodded, pulling his tablet over in front of him from the spot it was on nearest to him. "That's good. I suppose we don't have witness testimonies?"

Emily shook her head. "No, after J.J's testimony, it was deduced that the time of abduction had to be some time around midnight, meaning, in her small community, no one was awake at the time to see anything. And, even if they were, they surely weren't outside or checking up on her."

"Damn," Derek muttered under his breath, but, no one said anything. "Hotch, she knows that the first twenty-"

"I know, Morgan." Hotch shook his head, but, didn't say anything else on the subject, signaling that the experienced veteran was not up to have the conversation. He looked up at his team and back down at the tablet. It was 7:00 now. That meant Henry had been missing for about seven hours. They were almost at the halfway mark.

"We have to find him," Reid said, quietly. "We have twenty four hours. After twenty four hours… He disappears, Hotch. Henry will be gone."

"I know, Reid. I know."


	2. Chapter 2

***For the sake of this story, Henry was born on the air date of "Memoriam" November 12, 2008.***

The team exited the car at J.J's house (which was now the crime scene, they had to continually remind themselves). They had just been able to convince Will to not interfere until the case was solved, not wanting to jeopardize anything or set J.J. off any more than she already was.

"Prentiss and Rossi, you two go around and survey the outside of the premises. Look for any signs of anyone entering or exiting from around the back. Morgan and Reid, you two go inside - No, Prentiss and Reid, you two go inside and look around. Morgan, you go with Rossi, and, I'll speak with CSI."

Everyone went on their way, not even bothering to question why he had changed the pairs half way through, though, they suspected it was because Emily and Spencer, especially Spencer, were the closest of the four to J.J.

**DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC**

Derek and David were walking around the back, being sure to survey each spot they stepped on before they actually did. Sure, they were taking more precaution on this case then they normally would but, that's what happened when it was one of their own.

"Rossi, look at this," Derek called his partner over, waiting for the older gentleman to finally arrive (as he was being sure to only follow in the tread marks Derek had already made in the grass). "It's wet."

Being in Virginia, rain wasn't a new thing. In fact, it wasn't that the ground was wet that surprised them. It was the fact that it was the only area that was wet. That back of the back yard was hidden under a small canopy of trees that the previous owners must have planted in quite a few years back, and, so, even if it had rained, which it hadn't, that area wouldn't be wet, the rain being diverted by the thick of the trees above it.

David knelt down, his gloves on before pressing the grass, eyebrows raising at the sponginess of it. He called a CSI member over and they handed him a bag, allowing him the gingerly pull up a few pieces of the grass, though, not before smelling it. His eyes widened at he looked at Derek.

"Here. Smell this. What does that remind you of?" He asked, waiting for him to get it.

"Rossi… That's urine."

**DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC**

"The window is open here," Reid said, guiding his glove-covered hand along the base of the window, indicating the small crack. "It probably would have been too small for J.J. to notice in her shocked state, but, you can tell by the way the breeze is rushed when entering; that means it's not shut all of the way."

Emily nodded, though she vaguely heard what Reid was saying. She was busy looking around the room, trying to remember the way it looked when she was visiting J.J. last. It was all the same looking, nothing was really out of place. The bears that the team had gotten Henry for his birthday were all perfectly aligned on his dresser, the closet filled to the brim with the clothing the Penelope managed to be able to "find on sale" just at the right time for Henry every time she went shopping.

The room was painted a light blue with wooden decorations that spelled Henry's name out on the wall. She remembered the day all of the team had come over to help J.J. paint it, when Will had Henry and she wanted him to come home to a nice surprise. It had been a day full of laughter and tearful admissions, but, it brought them all closer together as a family.

Checking the stuffed animals for video surveillance, something she was sure CSI had already done, but, wanted to be extra sure, she was nothing. She felt around for anything hard or out of place, but, there was nothing.

"It's not going to be obvious," She heard Spencer mutter. "I mean, we all know that J.J. is pretty tidy and neat. Nothing out of place. It would have to be something she's used to encountering, so that she wouldn't question it. Something she'd see and disregard."

"Mail," Emily said immediately, turning around to the direction of the kitchen, but, Spencer stopped her.

"What's this?" He asked, picking up several sheets of folded paper from Henry's night stand. He opened them and quickly read them over. "They're reports… From his daycare. They have to be, I don't remember J.J. telling me she was having someone else take care of him. This one is dated November 16, 2009. So, he's been getting these for a few years now. Here, look at this one:

_March 18, 2010_

_Henry's doing wonderful. You're so lucky to have a boy like him._

_He's been talking now, so, that's wonderful. _

_I've been wondering if you noticed anything… Different, about Henry._

_He's certainly a special boy._

_He's so bright, so talented. He said "Mama" today, when he was talking to me._

_I think that certainly says something._

_W.H.O.T.M._

"But, the last one was signed 'D.M.C.'," Emily pointed out, though worried. "Why change the signature line? Assuming that's still the same person."

"It has to be," Spencer rushed on to say, handing Emily the note and now walking across the room, looking in the most remote corners. "It has the same line signature as the original note, almost the same timing. It's as if that person is warning J.J. of what's to come."

"She," Emily said, surveying the paper. "This is a she. The handwriting is feminine, you can tell by the way the 'y's, 'g's, 'j's and 'q's flourish. Also, it's rounded and loops often. It's-"

"l'Écriture féminine," Reid said, simply. "Originated with the French feminists in 1900s, though, it became popular around the seventies. Literally-"

"Writing the body." Emily finished for him. She smiled sadly to herself, that small fact had absolutely nothing to do with what they were doing now, but, it was easy to say such things to distract themselves. "What are the chances that there are more of these notes, more recent that could link someone to this?"

"Zero," He said, and, she looked up, shocked. He looked at her after she was silent a while, explaining his answer. "There isn't going to be anything that could link anyone to anything. The least we can do now is get these sent off to the lab for finger printing, but, seeing as how she was so careful with everything else, there's no way she would have left… Anything… Behind…"

He began to look at the closet strangely and then back to the note. She waited for him to get done, being perfectly used to this behavior, though, before he could move, Derek and David came back in, both looking disgruntled.

"Find anything?" Emily asked, prompting Spencer to finally look up.

"Yeah. Urine." Derek said, the confusion and frustration obvious in his voice. They did not have time to be looking at such confusing pieces of evidence.

"Urine?" Emily asked surprise, as Rossi nodded. "What would urine-"

"It makes sense," Reid said suddenly, looking back at the papers in his hand and then back at the closet. "It all makes sense."

"Excuse me?"

"Look, here," He pointed to two pin-size pricks in the top of the letter, and then folded it back over. "Don't you see?"

"What are you talking about, kid?" Derek asked, getting more and more agitated.

"Look!" Spencer demanded, thrusting the note into Emily's hands and then moving over to the closet. He began to skim his hands through the closing, pulling out a shirt as he finally got to what he wanted. He turned back to the rest of his team and turned the shirt inside out, revealing a sheet of paper folded and pinned to the shirt. "It all makes sense. The urine, the knowing everything about Henry… It makes sense!"

David shook his head. "Henry knows this someone. Knows them well enough to allow them to pin notes to his mother onto him, meaning, it's probably someone from the daycare center he goes to."

"And, knowing J.J., it became so routine that she thought she knew everything the UnSub could right into the notes, so, she just didn't bother looking anymore, too tired from coming back from work every night. Probably telling Henry he was old enough to take them out himself, just reminding him to be careful." Reid murmured.

"But, how does the urine tie into all of this?" Prentiss asked, still confused. She was following so far, but…

"Think about the note," Derek said, rubbing his hand over his head. "_'I know everything about him.' _The unsub said. He-"

"She," Reid interrupted, though, continued to listen. "We determined the UnSub is a female."

Derek nodded. "Ok, She was out there watching Henry and J.J. She possibly was even wearing a diaper and soiled herself a few too many times, causing urine to gather onto the soil. Luckily it took a while longer for it to soak up."

Emily nodded. "That makes sense. We found these other letters, and, she speaks fondly of Henry calling her 'Mama' once."

David already had his phone out. "Hotch? Yeah. We're ready to give our profile. I know – I know, Hotch. But, we've got it. We have a profile."

**DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC**

Aaron Hotchner looked at the detectives and law enforcement gathered around him. This was not going to be easy. In addition to the fact that J.J. was a well-known, and loved face on the front of the media in the area, the team refused to sit it out, making it all the more personal. "We're looking for a woman, aged anywhere from twenty five to forty years of age. She'd be Caucasian and fit enough to be able to carry Henry anywhere, as she mostly likely took him while he was sleeping."

"We suspect she owns a large vehicle. Something that can easily stow a fighting three year old without looking suspicious, need be. Though, she wouldn't have needed to. Watch out for mini vans and large trucks with tinted windows, or, signs such as '**Baby on Board'.**" Rossi said.

"She's cautious," Morgan continued. "She could have done this before, but, we don't know for sure. What we do know is that it's not going to be obvious that it's her; she's…" He thought back to the notes they had found shortly after in the rest of Henry's clothing. "She's been doing this for a few years, so, she's been around Henry."

"Henry knows who took him," Emily followed up by saying. "It would be easy to mistake the duo for a mother and son pair, which is what she would likely try. He trusts her; has no reason to think she would ever take him without his mother's permission, or do anything harmful to him, so, he will go willingly wherever she leads him."

"She will be very maternal, though, it's unlikely that she has children of her own. Those around her will know her to often give tips on parenting and befriend small children, though, in a way completely unrelated to anything sexual." Reid spoke, and Hotch continued right after him.

"Above all is the fact that she believes she's helping. If she's found, she is _not _to be confronted. She believes that wherever she's taking Henry is what's best for him, and, if we gauged her letter correctly, she will not hesitate to end his life if she feels they are threatened and it's what's best for him at the time." He was firm, allowing them to know that, whatever they did, they had to handle her carefully, as this was thin ice they were treading on. He looked at his watch. 12:00 p.m. it read.

Yes. They were on very, very thin ice.

**DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC**

"She has to talk to her," Derek rationalized, once they returned to the building. Penelope was working on all of the media she could get to, but, she was having a hard time doing it alone. "J.J. has to send a message out."

"No." Spencer and Emily both snapped at him, but, he shook his head, flipping his ID to the security guard standing at the front desk, walking towards the elevators.

"This woman has assumed the maternal position in his life, at least for now," He rushed on, as they glared harder, boarding the elevators one they finally made it to their location. "A plea from J.J. may help in softening her up, it may get her to see how what she did was wrong, and, from a mother's point of view, it'd be the best thing for everyone involved if she'd just return Henry."

"And what if it makes her snap?" David asked, voicing Spencer and Emily's opinions before they could do it themselves and possibly burst the eardrums of everyone on the elevator.

"It won't," Derek said, self-assured. "She doesn't have a feeling that J.J. will find her, she's been to careful. And, even then, we don't have to have J.J. threaten to find her. We'll just have her ask from Henry back. We've done it before."

_But, never with family. _Was the unanimous thought in the small confined space, but, no one said anything as they exited the elevator, getting off on their floor to enter the bullpen, where Hotch already was.

"We still need to know what 'D.M.C.' means." He spoke as they approached.

Derek had already pulled his phone, dialing her number. "The Oracle of All Things You May Need to Know to Save a Life, at your service, how may I help you?" She still wasn't a bubbly as she used to be, but, Derek would take it.

"Hey, Sweetness, we need to get to work on those initials." He replied, reaching to his desk to grab his folder as the whole team headed back to the conference room.

"D.M.C.?" She asked and he nodded even though she couldn't see him.

"Yeah, those. Only, it isn't a name, princess. Think slogan or song or phrase." He said, settling down into his seat, the team conversing quietly around him. He looked at the clock. 1:00 p.m. "And, Baby Girl. We have less than twelve hours."

"You have said the magic words, my prince. Garcia out." And she hung up with a click.

"These are the testimonies from everyone that works at the Daycare Center and the library that they take the children to every Wednesday. Their alibis all check out." Regardless of that fact, Hotch still passed a bundle of papers to everyone sitting at the table.

They all shook their heads and looked at the clock. 1:03 p.m. it read. Every minute counted – Hell, every second counted. There was no time to waste.

**DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC**

"I want to do it." Garcia had called Hotch into her office as soon as JJ had come up with the "crazy idea".

"JJ, I don't think that's-"

Hotch cut Garcia off before she could finish. "When?"

Garcia look appalled. "You can't seriously consider letting her do this!"

J.J. looked down at her eccentric friend, a sad smile on her face, but, her eyes resolute. "Pen, I love you, you know I do, but, please… Until it's your baby that someone has stolen from you, just… Don't."

Penelope wisely said nothing, but, shook her head, turning back to her computers. J.J. looked at her petulant stance, but, said nothing. She turned to face Hotch. "Now."

And with that they left the office, leaving behind a very disgruntled Penelope Garcia.

**DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC ∙ DMC**

J.J. took a deep breath as she sat in front of the camera. All of the screaming had been let out of her system earlier, but, now that she sat in front of the camera, she felt the urge to start crying again. She had done televised pleas many times before, but, not for her own baby. She never thought she'd have to.

Henry.

That's who she was doing it for, she remembered. She took another breath, cleared her mind and left nothing but that thought, and then nodded at the camera man.

"My name…" She took another deep breath, looking down at her hands before bringing her head up to completely face the camera. "My name is Jennifer Jareau and my baby has been taken.

"His name is Henry, he's about three. His birthday is November 18th, this year. He, uhm…" She took a deep breath and looked at the camera. This was harder than she thought it was going to be, she noted as she blinked back the tears.

"I just want my baby back," A few tears fell, but, she resolved to not become the mess she was when she had first entered the building. "I just… I need him. I need my baby."

She took another deep, ragged breath and prepared herself for the lies that were about to pass her lips. "And, I'm not mad, at you, whoever you are. You must love him very much, I know. You took him when he was sleeping, because you didn't want to disrupt his day, I'm sure. I understand.

"I just… He was my baby first. I loved him first. And, I'd like to love him until the end. Even if… Even if you can't find it in yourself to return him just yet, that's alright. I just need to see him. I just need to see my baby."

Hotch touched the arm of the camera man, letting him know it was time to stop the feed. He looked at her, his eyes compassionate. "That was good, J.J. That's all we need."


End file.
